Someone has to say it, so I’ll be the bad guy. No, wait. Dwyane Wade is the bad guy.

And that’s how I’ll say it:

Dwyane Wade is the bad guy. He’s the worst guy in the NBA, when it comes to bad-guy stuff. Dirtiest player in the league? Yeah. That’s Dwyane Wade. Look no farther for The Next Bruce Bowen, because he’s here and headed to the Hall of Fame. Rare that a player as good as Dwyane Wade would be as devious, as dirty, as Dwyane Wade … but there we are.

Dwyane Wade is the most devious, the most dirty player in the NBA.

Later:

The guy’s dirty. He doesn’t just foul people — he hurts them. He hurled Rajon Rondo to the ground during the 2011 playoffs and Rondo suffered a dislocated elbow. He raked his arm down on Kobe Bryant’s face and broke his nose … during the 2012 All-Star Game. He kicked Ramon Sessions in the groin earlier this season and was suspended a game for that.

He’s dirty, man. Dirty. Dirtiest player in the NBA? I think that goes without saying. Does anybody else have a rap sheet as long as Wade’s rap sheet? Did I mention the forearm shiver to Lance Stephenson’s head yet? That was in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, and it was so bad, so dirty, that after studying it on film the NBA assessed Wade with a flagrant foul.

The NBA didn’t suspend Wade for Game 3 because he’s Dwyane Wade and that’s the Miami Heat and suspending Wade for Game 3 might have thrown the Eastern Conference finals even further out of balance, and the NBA would prefer the Miami Heat to reach the NBA Finals. We all know that, right? That the NBA prefers the Heat (and LeBron James) to reach the NBA Finals? I’m not suggesting the referees would affect the outcome, but I am absolutely suggesting the NBA didn’t suspend Dwyane Wade for smashing Lance Stephenson in the head because he plays for Miami, and he plays with LeBron, and the NBA would prefer the Heat reaches the NBA Finals.

Which brings me to Sunday night. Game 3.

The flop.

You saw the flop, right? Wade was under the basket, near the baseline, nowhere to go. Well, there was one place to go — out of bounds. With Pacers big man Ian Mahinmi nearby, Wade threw himself out of bounds. He wanted the call, the foul, the ball. He got none of it.

I want a fine.

And at the end, to tie it all up he address Wade directly:

It’s hilarious to watch, really, but not in a laughing-with-you sort of way. I see it and I’m laughing at you, Dwyane Wade, because it’s pathetic for a player of your stature and skill to resort to such blatant cheating. And that’s what flopping is — it’s cheating. Trying to gain an unfair advantage, help your team and penalize theirs, by getting a call you don’t deserve.

Wade’s a cheater.

Dirty, too.

These facts are undisputable. Someone had to say it, so I’ll say it. And I’m not worried about being the bad guy anymore, because everyone knows who the bad guy is in this story.

He wears No. 3 for the Miami Heat.

Wow. Doyel pulls no punches and in many ways he’s not wrong. Unfortunately all of these issues stem back to the NBA allowing it to get this point in the first place. Is it annoying to watch guys of the Wade and LeBron caliber resort to this stuff? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, they are exploiting a weakness in the game to give themselves a competitive advantage. If the NBA really wants this stuff to stop, it’s on the League to step up and take care of it.

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05.28.13 at 10:52 am

Thelorn Lewis

he’s the worst thing to happen to the NBA

05.28.13 at 11:03 am

core Bean

You know what else can be taken from that article? Honesty. Where the hell has all the damn honest opinions from the media gone? These days no one wants to say anything bad in case it hurts possible revenue or a possible trip to the courts.

More honesty please and lay into the so called “stars”. They are only there, because YOU the media put them there.

05.28.13 at 2:37 pm

Louise

Lebron is just as dirty and sneaky. I agree, as talented as they both are, I think its disgraceful how often they flop. Bron is as big and powerful as a locomotive yet he wants us to constantly believe he is being physically punished by smaller players. And then after they’ve flung themselves all over the floor and into the crowd, they both get up and brush themselves off, wincing, seemingly innocent and sportsmanlike, pretending to not have a clue where all of this anger from other players is coming from. AND THE MEDIA EATS IT UP!!! Kudos to Greg Doyel!!!

05.28.13 at 3:13 pm

Michael Emjay Johnson

haven’t watched a game in a while didn’t know it was as bad as this now.

05.28.13 at 5:15 pm

AustinBurton206

And yet I feel like if you showed this writer (and a lot of other NBA writers) a similar rap sheet on, say … John Stockton … they’d classify it as “competitive” or “scrappy” or “doing whatever it takes to win.”

05.28.13 at 9:58 pm

Stradio

Or Reggie Miller, who just proclaimed himself as one of the all time greatest floppers. People will continue to see what they want to see.

05.29.13 at 4:28 am

Kris

Wade is dirty, there’s no hiding it. Stop bringing up players that haven’t been in the league in 10 years to try and mask the crap that Wade pulls. That’s not an excuse for the things that he’s done and it doesn’t make it right. he’s injured at least two players and could have possibly injured others.

This sounds like it’s coming from someone who is desperate for attention, or doesn’t watch very much basketball…maybe both. He rarely flops so that shouldn’t even be a factor in this. The only reason his flops seem more prominent than others is because there’s more media on him. The only main flop you could even come up with it was the recent on against the Pacers. When you’re in a competitive series where both teams are flopping and you’re in a hopeless situation you’d be stupid not to even the playing field. As far as injuring people, few people would purposely try to injure another player, especially someone of his caliber. If you’re suggesting he intentionally tried to hurt those people on national television then you are crazy. It’s a physical, chaotic sport people get hurt by other people all the time. When you’re fully exerting yourself to be as competitive as possible people will get hurt. The elbow to Stephenson is a clear representation of someone trying to protect themselves as they tried to get down the court. Sometimes it’s just instinct when people get in your way to throw up a limb to protect your body, its a fast paced sport. This explains the blow to sessions too. As for the other fouls, its just part of the game. Someone as “devious” as you say Wade is would certainly go about hurting people a little more subtly than elbowing them in the head at mid court. Don’t tarnish a players reputation based on observation, if you want a true analysis of who the dirtiest player in the NBA is you should ask the players, they know what truly goes on on the court.

06.01.13 at 6:01 pm

Michael O'Sullivan

You could make a 10 minute video of all the dirty plays and flops d wade does

05.30.13 at 6:22 pm

Jeitinho

I think this article is baloney. I have one simple reason for thinking so: No mention of Metta World Peace A/K/A Ron Artest! And why? Because he’s a former Pacer. So, the author is a desperate Pacer fan – ’nuff said!

06.01.13 at 4:00 am

SweetdickWilly

Wade will pull some shit but he isn’t the dirtiest guy in the league. Chris Paul’s the bitch of bitches when it comes to being dirty. I give Wade a pass for Rondo since he’s gotten away with a lot of shit for years.

06.03.13 at 1:45 am

Guest

It’s actually not cheating, but that’s a discussion for another day. I’m tired of people making flopping a goddamn moral argument, when it simply isn’t.

06.04.13 at 7:56 pm

giovanni dennis

Nah,Reggie Evans is the dirtiest player in the NBA…he looks like Rick Ross smells…like crab meat juice,eww…